Behavior Support Specialist

Behavioral Support Services begins with a vital understanding: people with intellectual and developmental disabilities may also experience mental and behavioral health needs—and meaningful progress comes from seeing the whole person, not simply a diagnosis or behavior. As part of this growing LBSA program, you will collaborate with clients, caregivers, and support teams to strengthen stability, improve quality of life, and uncover what behavior may be communicating.

The work happens where life happens. You will travel to client homes, day programs, schools, workplaces, and other community settings throughout portions of southeast and south-central Minnesota, including Scott, Dakota, Rice, Olmsted, and Goodhue counties.

As a Behavior Support Specialist, you will get to know people with IDD and their support systems so you can pair thoughtful assessment with practical, person-centered action. You will observe clients directly or indirectly across the environments they navigate each day, lead intake conversations with clients and primary caregivers, and review assessments from outside providers, partner with case managers and multidisciplinary teams. Along the way, you will maintain clear documentation, communicate reliably, and draw on supervision when complex challenges call for additional perspective.

Your work will connect the dots. By bringing together interviews, records, observations, strengths, needs, environments, and goals, you will create a fuller picture of each person and ensure that support circles have access to the tools that will help them be successful. You will then translate that understanding into service recommendations and practical Behavioral Support Plans that can be used across settings, equip caregivers and support teams, and help others recognize behavior as meaningful communication.

You will also help shape the future of a developing program. Working with Behavioral Support Services and LBSA leadership, you may create program resources, strengthen service approaches, and develop presentations for community partners and professional conferences. Your ideas will help expand understanding, build community capacity, and open more pathways to effective support.

Services are delivered in person, virtually, and through other technology-based communication. This hybrid position offers flexibility to respond to client needs and requires at least two days each week in the Northfield office for documentation, collaboration, and supervision.

• Direct experience supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and partnering with their caregivers

• Strong organization, sound time management, and a reliable record of meeting deadlines

• Knowledge of the systems that shape life in the IDD community and a commitment to thoughtful advocacy and positive change

• Creativity, adaptability, and practical problem-solving when developing support strategies

• Cultural humility and the ability to honor each stakeholder’s language, values, beliefs, and cultural needs in conversations, reports, and plans

• Genuine curiosity and a drive to help every client feel seen, understood, and equipped to thrive

• Completion of a master’s-level program in one of the fields listed above, along with internship experience in the IDD community

Additional duties may be assigned with clear communication, preparation, and appropriate support.